This project seeks to represent the precious built and intangible heritage of the oldest city of modern India, Chennai. It does so via the work of a fictitious, not-for-profit organisation with a modest budget called the Madras-Chennai Foundation. Among their first initiatives are themed heritage walks that highlight the history, performing arts, ecology, architecture and food of the city.
Graduation project for Bachelor of Visual Arts.
Concept
Chennai does not have an enterprise organising branded heritage walks, like several other cities do, such as ‘Royal Mysore Walks’ in Mysore (a tourism entrepreneur) or ‘Delhi by Foot’ in Delhi (which also has a community-building and heritage agenda). I wanted to create an evocative identity and engaging interfaces for the provider of such a service in Chennai.
Visual Identity
The identity of the city did not simply lie in its current, urban name of Chennai. It lay in the nostalgia of the old city of Madras. The challenge was to bring them together harmoniously in a way that resonated with the people of the city, and visitors to it.
Logo
The logo for the organisation, positioned to enable branding across media, articulates the classical yet contemporary spirit of the city.
Heritage Walks
I designed informative handouts to inspire walkers on guided excursions, and detailed, hand-drawn maps to encourage self-exploration. A poster campaign advertises each of the themed heritage walks, and is conceived for notice boards in college campuses, cafés and bookshops. The sticker tags for each themed heritage walk, handed out to groups of walkers for encouraging strong recall, are meant to foster a sense of participation, and for the more practical purpose of keeping track of a mixed group.
The intention was to craft a unique identity for each walk, with the rendering focused on motivating walkers with easy, alluring nuggets of information.
Performing Arts Walk at Kalakshetra Foundation
Illustrations are inspired by the Kalamkari tradition of hand-drawn paintings on cloth; Kalakshetra, the renowned Institute of National Importance for the fine arts, has a weaving unit that practices the craft.
History Walk at Fort St George
Illustrations are inspired by Company Style paintings; the museum at Fort St George displays a collection of original aqua-tints.
Food Walk at Mylapore
Illustrations are inspired by Indian pop art and kitsch; Mylapore is a busy and vibrantly colourful old neighbourhood of the city.
Turtle Walk by the Student Sea Turtle Conversation Network
Illustrations are rendered in watercolours; the layout tells the story of ecologically vulnerable Olive Ridley sea turtles, which nest annually by the southern shoreline of the city.
Architecture Walk at the Madras High Court
I have used my photographs for this layout to convey the architectural magnificence of this historic heritage building better.
Take Aways
Clockwise from top left: Drishti Muham (a demon-like mask to do away with the ‘evil eye’ or negative energies); Kolam (traditional rice flour decorations drawn afresh every morning at the entrances to homes); Shoot! (balloon shooting by the beach); Korvai (a highly skilled handloom technique that requires two weavers to work on the body and border of a sari, which are attached afterward); Molaha Bajji Maalai (chillies strung into garlands by beachside stalls selling fritters).
Framed works, which may also be given as mementos to donors and patrons, were priced at Rs 500 each. Mounted prints, to be sold as souvenirs to generate funds for the organisation, were priced at Rs 100 each.
